Carol Reed, owner of Artifacts in East Longmeadow, helps customers get cash for heirlooms

Photo by Staasi HeropoulosLinda A. Scibelli, of East Longmeadow, has sold old family items to raise cash.

EAST LONGMEADOW - Jill A. Scibelli isn’t one to just haul her heirlooms off to the local consignment shop and liquidate memories for cash.

But, the bar is set a bit lower these days for Scibelli and others who are now taking a second look at what’s boxed in the basement.

“My grandmother gave me a clock, and I sold it,” said Scibelli. “The money came in handy. In this economy what money doesn’t come in handy? Every little penny counts nowadays.”

The nature of antique and related consignment shops is shifting from what they were 30 years ago. Back then most people went there to shop. Now, people who have lost their jobs or are working reduced hours are selling their possessions for cash that pays the mortgage.

Carol Reed owns Artifacts, an antiques and collectibles shop here.

“I’m seeing that people in this economy are realizing they can’t hold onto memories of their grandmother,” Reed says. “They’d rather come in and find a good home for their treasures and generate some cash to buy food, clothes and other necessities.”

Photo by Staasi HeropoulosCarol Reed, owner of Artifacts antiques and collectibles in East Longmeadow, displays an item from her shop.

Reed’s 400-square-foot shop is jammed with collectibles - much of it Depression-era memorabilia from the last generation that is helping their recession-era relatives pay their bills.

“Some people are torn when they come in,” Reed said. “They don’t really want to part with things but it’s just a matter of paying their bills or keeping things they don’t use.”

The items that sell for a fair market price in Reed’s shop may otherwise have sold for next to nothing in a tag sale.

Reed has worked for major retailers in Boston, she is a Realtor and her dad is an avid collector. She says she can recognize an item of value, even if it’s tucked behind the hose and old oil cans in the garage.

“You might have a garage full of things, but it’s the unusual items that really sell. I go in there and I know what to look for and how to market it,” she said.

Most people don’t have the time or talent to do the research it takes to determine what grandma’s brooch or grandpa’s old Zenith radio is really worth - and where to sell them. But, when Reed isn’t busy helping buyers or sellers, she’s spending hours on the Internet or in the library researching the history, value and a market for the pieces people bring to her.

Getting the best price for her customers is only part of the equation. Reed also takes responsibility for placing them in a good home.

“I’d rather that it goes to someone who’s really going to appreciate the object and use it for what it’s meant to be - to admire and appreciate it,” she said. “It came from someone and someone cared about the object at one time, so I feel like I’m passing the spirit on with it.”

Like her customers, Reed feels a bit of melancholy when she sells a piece. But, she’s also raising money for people who need it and placing artifacts with people who appreciate them - and that is the art of the deal.